


Unusual Tastes

by tsukinofaerii



Category: Marvel 616
Genre: Eating Disorder, Gen, HC Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-09-07
Updated: 2010-09-07
Packaged: 2017-10-11 13:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/113058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukinofaerii/pseuds/tsukinofaerii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve walks in at exactly the wrong moment. Or maybe it's the right one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unusual Tastes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for HC Bingo: Eating Disorder

Steve stepped onto the top of lab stairs just in time to see Tony pop a screw in his mouth while staring intently a diagram. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Tony put something weird in his mouth. If there wasn't a piece of candy, it would be the head of a nail, or a pen... Tony liked sucking on things or chewing them. So Steve didn't think anything about it until he saw Tony swallow the screw and reach for a computer chip.

"Tony!" He rushed down the stairs, hopping over a few boxes of parts in his haste, ready to swat Tony on the back if he started choking.

Instead of choking, Tony just looked up at him in mild confusion. He didn't seem to have even noticed that he'd just eaten a chunk of metal. "What is it?"

A stack of broken computer chips toppled when Steve bumped the edge of the desk. The room was brightly lit and littered with half-finished projects as always. All sorts of bits and pieces of things were scattered in the desktop, not all of them working. Steve planted his hands on the desk and leaned over, inspecting Tony's face from less than a foot away. "You just swallowed a screw."

"Oh. That." Reaching for a cheap ballpoint pen, Tony popped the cap and stuck it between his teeth to chew before bowing his head back to his work. Cold air blew in from the vents, leaving prickles up and down Steve's bare arms. "It's no big deal. Just a screw. Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry..." Steve's eyebrows knit together. "How often do you eat things?"

"Not very—no. No, this is not about my eating habits." The ink-free end of the pen tapped against Tony's paper. _Rat-ta-tat-tat._ Tony didn't look up. "Let it go. I mean it."

"Just talk to me. Please—"

"_Drop. It._"

Steve stared at the top of Tony's head. It was messy, sticky where he'd run greasy hands through it once too many times. Tony should have looked like something had changed. _Different_. They'd been friends for years, and Steve had never noticed anything like this.

What else had Tony eaten?

Papers slid over the desk as Tony's shoulders hunched defensively. His head stayed down, and the pen kept bouncing. _Rat-ta-tata-tat_. "If you're going to stand there staring, you should just go. I can get my daily dose of judging in the tabloids, thanks."

"No, I..." Steve shook his head, straightening. "I came down to see if you wanted to get some fresh air. There's a fair I thought you might like." Which seemed silly, all of a sudden. Tony needed to see a doctor, not a Ferris wheel.

But Tony's head came up, and the suspicious glint faded from his blue eyes a little. "A fair?" He didn't smile, but his mouth didn't look so pulled down by the weight of his goatee. "If you want—I could put this aside for a day. We can get cotton candy?" The peace offering was obvious—Tony hated cotton candy. He said it got in his beard.

The need to keep on about Tony's eating things was strong, but Steve forced it aside. Later, he'd ask Pepper, and try to talk Tony into seeing a doctor. "Cotton candy and corn dogs."

Finally, Tony really did smile. "Deal."


End file.
